Calling All Romantics

First in the new Nantucket Brides Trilogy, True Love by Jude Deveraux combines a little mystery, a ghost, a big family, with some reincarnation mixed in to make this a perfect choice for all you hopeless romantics out there. The Taggerts and Montgomerys from the author's Velvet series are together again in this magical tale set on the island of Nantucket.

Alix Madsen, an architectural student has just finished school when Adelaide Kingsley, an old family friend, dies and gives Alix the use of her beautiful nineteenth century home in Nantucket for a full year, with one interesting stipulation. There is an old family mystery that goes back 200 years, a mystery that involved the disappearance of Valentina Kingsley. Adelaide believed that Alix is the key to uncovering the truth. When Alix arrives at the house, she immediately feels as if someone is guiding her every move. A ghost perhaps? Enter Captain Caleb Kingsley, who for over 200 years has been haunting Kingsley House, waiting for Valentina, his true love, to return. Alix vaguely remembers seeing the family ghost when visiting Kingsley house when she was four years old, and also remembers playing with a mysterious fourteen year old boy. This boy grew up to be Jared Montgomery Kingsley, the arrogant, (and extremely handsome) world renowned architect, who just happens to live in the guest house. Jared is none too happy that the Nantucket house that is supposed to be his must be occupied by some starry eyed student who probably expects him to take her under his wing. Sparks fly when the two finally meet, but hidden twists and turns in the story prevent Jared from showing his true feelings. With each chapter, the author introduces new friends and family members, and feeds us a little more information about these intriguing families and how they came into existence and intertwined over centuries.

An incredible love story, True Love mixes old fashioned romance with the beauty of Nantucket. The shops, the foods, the ferry, the houses, the ocean, and the descriptions of the houses were incredible, and we learn a lot about the homes and history of the island through them. Deveraux describes not only the modern-day version of the little island, but the history and people whose ancestors settled there and lived their lives. Add to that a little mystery, a romance, a wedding, a pregnancy, a haunting, a reincarnation, mixed with lies and half truths galore, and you will fall in love with this story just as I did.